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Being Alive: the sequel to Staying Alive
Being Alive is the sequel to Neil Astley’s Staying Alive, which became Britain’s most popular poetry book because it gave readers hundreds of thoughtful and passionate poems about living in the modern world. Now he has assembled this equally lively companion anthology for all those readers who’ve wanted more poems that touch the heart, stir the mind and fire the spirit. Being Alive is about being about love and loss, fear and longing, hurt and wonder. Staying Alive didn’t just reach a broader readership, it introduced thousands of new readers to contemporary poetry, giving them an international gathering of poems of great personal force, poems with emotional power, intellectual edge and playful wit. It also brought many readers back to poetry, people who hadn’t read poetry for years because it hadn’t held their interest. Being Alive gives readers an even wider selection of vivid, brilliantly diverse contemporary poetry from around the world. Being Alive was followed by a companion anthology, Being Human (2011), and by a fourth volume, Staying new poems for Staying Alive (2020). These anthologies have been welcomed not only by poets but by a wide range of well-known people respected for their work in fields other than poetry – all avid readers of poetry. They want to recommend these books above all other anthologies of contemporary poetry.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
49 people are currently reading
450 people want to read
About the author
Neil Astley
40 books39 followersNeil Astley is editor of Bloodaxe Books, Britain’s leading poetry imprint, which he founded in 1978. His own books include novels, poetry collections and anthologies, most notably the Bloodaxe Staying Alive trilogy. He is also a trustee of Ledbury Poetry Festival and Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts, and a development committee member of Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway, Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 4, 2022
This is a modern poetry anthology, with a mix of very well-known and rather less well-known poets (or at least less well-known to me.) I am still in the process of reading it - currently dotting around here and there, but determined to set myself on course with a regime of two poems a day.
I'm normally not a great fan of anthologies - I prefer getting books that feature the work of someone whose work I already admire and want to explore in greater depth. But this is a very good taster-read - and I think it will broaden my horizons and introduce me to some inspiring new poems and poets....
Here are a couple of poems - just from a reading this morning - which gave me much enjoyment....
Atlas
There is a kind of love called maintenance
Which stores the WD40 and knows when to use it
Which checks the insurance, and doesnt forget
The milkman; which remembers to plant bulbs;
Which answers letters; which knows the way
The money goes; which deals with dentists
And Road Fund Tax and meeting trains,
And postcards to the lonely; which upholds
The permanently rickety elaborate
Structures of living, which is Atlas.
And maintenance is the sensible side of love,
Which knows what time and weather are doing
To my brickwork; insulates my faulty wiring;
Laughs at my dryrotten jokes; remembers
My need for gloss and grouting; which keeps
My suspect edifice upright in air,
As Atlas did the sky.
U.A. Fanthorpe
~~~~~~~~
The Tongue
Inadvertently I passed the border of her teeth and swallowed
her agile tongue. It lives inside me now, like a Japanese fish. It
brushes against my heart and my diaphragm as if against the walls
of an aquarium. It stirs silt from the bottom.
She whom I deprived of a voice stares at me with big eyes
and waits for a word.
Yet I do not know which tongue to use when speaking to
her – the stolen one or the one which melts in my mouth from an
excess of heavy goodness.
Zbigniew Herbert
I think this book is going to give me a lot of pleasure.
*** I don't know why, but Goodreads has printed the second poem with some eccentric spacing. It should be a lot more uniform. :O(
I'm normally not a great fan of anthologies - I prefer getting books that feature the work of someone whose work I already admire and want to explore in greater depth. But this is a very good taster-read - and I think it will broaden my horizons and introduce me to some inspiring new poems and poets....
Here are a couple of poems - just from a reading this morning - which gave me much enjoyment....
Atlas
There is a kind of love called maintenance
Which stores the WD40 and knows when to use it
Which checks the insurance, and doesnt forget
The milkman; which remembers to plant bulbs;
Which answers letters; which knows the way
The money goes; which deals with dentists
And Road Fund Tax and meeting trains,
And postcards to the lonely; which upholds
The permanently rickety elaborate
Structures of living, which is Atlas.
And maintenance is the sensible side of love,
Which knows what time and weather are doing
To my brickwork; insulates my faulty wiring;
Laughs at my dryrotten jokes; remembers
My need for gloss and grouting; which keeps
My suspect edifice upright in air,
As Atlas did the sky.
U.A. Fanthorpe
~~~~~~~~
The Tongue
Inadvertently I passed the border of her teeth and swallowed
her agile tongue. It lives inside me now, like a Japanese fish. It
brushes against my heart and my diaphragm as if against the walls
of an aquarium. It stirs silt from the bottom.
She whom I deprived of a voice stares at me with big eyes
and waits for a word.
Yet I do not know which tongue to use when speaking to
her – the stolen one or the one which melts in my mouth from an
excess of heavy goodness.
Zbigniew Herbert
I think this book is going to give me a lot of pleasure.
*** I don't know why, but Goodreads has printed the second poem with some eccentric spacing. It should be a lot more uniform. :O(
April 20, 2022
Being Alive, published in 2004, is a huge anthology of contemporary poetry. It is the second in the three compilations edited by Neil Astley: the first is entitled "Staying Alive" and the third, from 2011, "Being Human". The three books form a trilogy. Neil Astley has also now selected 100 poems from the entire collection of 1500, as a "'Staying Alive' travel companion".
Just as with "Staying Alive", Being Alive is almost a reference book, in that it provides a first glimpse at so many poets. Neil Astley calls it a "bridge" anthology, designed to make its readers read more works by the poets whom it features,
"Being Alive" takes its readers on a journey through the world of contemporary poetry, stopping off for encounters and meetings."
"I had no thought then of a sequel, but I also had no idea that the book would be championed so enthusisastically that readers would want a companion anthology."
In fact "Staying Alive" became Britain's most popular poetry book within a fortnight of its publication in 2002.
Being Alive uses the same format as its predecessor, containing perhaps 500 poems, this time divided into 10 sections. These sections are entitled: "Exploring the World, Taste and See, Family, Love Life, Men and Women, Being and Loss, Daily Round, Lives, Mad World, and Ends and Beginnings". Almost 300 poets' works are represented here. The different stances taken by each poet, means that a reader may be able to access those which best match their experience or world view, or if you like, those which "speak" to them.
Neil Astley says that his introduction to modern poetry came in the 1960's, just as my own did, with the Liverpool poets' "Mersey Sound". Yet the research he did, as the editor and founder of the publishing company, "Bloodaxe books", revealed that most people view modern poetry as irrelevant or incomprehensible. He also discovered that only a startling 5% of poetry books sold in British bookshops were by living poets.
Neil Astley states that as a result of "Staying Alive", many readers had expressed an interest in poets largely unknown to British readers, for example, Mary Oliver of the USA and Alden Nowlan of Canada. "Bloodaxe books" has subsequently published separate single editions of works by these and other poets, in their "Bloodaxe World Poets" series. Earlier in the introduction he had referred to the "access to international poetry restricted by the narrowness of British publishing". He invited suggestions for the upcoming third part of the trilogy.
There is an index at the back, of titles and first lines, preceded by a useful alphabetical list of the poets included. As with the first book, each section is preceded by a brief introduction, and the list of poems included is by page number at the front.
Once again, all the poems deal with life in a contemporary setting, and are poems which relate to some aspect of human experience, but remind the reader of eternal truths. They are chosen for their accessibility. The collection may be useful to a beginner to reading poetry, or someone who is about to study the area, and wanting to get an overview of modern poetry. For those mildly interested in the area, it could be one to dip into.
However I have the same reservations as I have with the first book. It is a physically large and cumbersome book, with tiny print which is not particularly attractive. I find the darting around from one poet to another, with a very different world view, distracting. The result is a hotchpotch of unconnected thoughts. Because of this, it is not the sort of book to read through from start to finish, yet in no way is is a coffee table book either.
Noble though the original idea is, and popular though it seems to be given the ratings, I feel this book is probably often selected as a gift, but never read and rarely consulted.
However I am now interested to look at the books of single poets' selected works, from the "Bloodaxe World Poets" series.
Link here to my review of "Staying Alive".
Just as with "Staying Alive", Being Alive is almost a reference book, in that it provides a first glimpse at so many poets. Neil Astley calls it a "bridge" anthology, designed to make its readers read more works by the poets whom it features,
"Being Alive" takes its readers on a journey through the world of contemporary poetry, stopping off for encounters and meetings."
"I had no thought then of a sequel, but I also had no idea that the book would be championed so enthusisastically that readers would want a companion anthology."
In fact "Staying Alive" became Britain's most popular poetry book within a fortnight of its publication in 2002.
Being Alive uses the same format as its predecessor, containing perhaps 500 poems, this time divided into 10 sections. These sections are entitled: "Exploring the World, Taste and See, Family, Love Life, Men and Women, Being and Loss, Daily Round, Lives, Mad World, and Ends and Beginnings". Almost 300 poets' works are represented here. The different stances taken by each poet, means that a reader may be able to access those which best match their experience or world view, or if you like, those which "speak" to them.
Neil Astley says that his introduction to modern poetry came in the 1960's, just as my own did, with the Liverpool poets' "Mersey Sound". Yet the research he did, as the editor and founder of the publishing company, "Bloodaxe books", revealed that most people view modern poetry as irrelevant or incomprehensible. He also discovered that only a startling 5% of poetry books sold in British bookshops were by living poets.
Neil Astley states that as a result of "Staying Alive", many readers had expressed an interest in poets largely unknown to British readers, for example, Mary Oliver of the USA and Alden Nowlan of Canada. "Bloodaxe books" has subsequently published separate single editions of works by these and other poets, in their "Bloodaxe World Poets" series. Earlier in the introduction he had referred to the "access to international poetry restricted by the narrowness of British publishing". He invited suggestions for the upcoming third part of the trilogy.
There is an index at the back, of titles and first lines, preceded by a useful alphabetical list of the poets included. As with the first book, each section is preceded by a brief introduction, and the list of poems included is by page number at the front.
Once again, all the poems deal with life in a contemporary setting, and are poems which relate to some aspect of human experience, but remind the reader of eternal truths. They are chosen for their accessibility. The collection may be useful to a beginner to reading poetry, or someone who is about to study the area, and wanting to get an overview of modern poetry. For those mildly interested in the area, it could be one to dip into.
However I have the same reservations as I have with the first book. It is a physically large and cumbersome book, with tiny print which is not particularly attractive. I find the darting around from one poet to another, with a very different world view, distracting. The result is a hotchpotch of unconnected thoughts. Because of this, it is not the sort of book to read through from start to finish, yet in no way is is a coffee table book either.
Noble though the original idea is, and popular though it seems to be given the ratings, I feel this book is probably often selected as a gift, but never read and rarely consulted.
However I am now interested to look at the books of single poets' selected works, from the "Bloodaxe World Poets" series.
Link here to my review of "Staying Alive".
February 1, 2018
Ditto my review of the first anthology "Staying Alive". Another excellent sampling of poems.
A Jar of Honey
You hold it like a lit bulb,
a pound of light,
and swivel the stunned glow
around the fat glass sides:
it's the sun, all flesh and no bones
but for the floating knuckle
of honeycomb
attesting to the nature of the struggle.
Jacob Polley
A Jar of Honey
You hold it like a lit bulb,
a pound of light,
and swivel the stunned glow
around the fat glass sides:
it's the sun, all flesh and no bones
but for the floating knuckle
of honeycomb
attesting to the nature of the struggle.
Jacob Polley
June 4, 2016
It's impossible to tell how many of the poems here I missed, as I didn't read it front to back, so I hesitate to shelve this as finished. I will probably loan it again.
Great poetry collection. With a little bit of everything inside.
Great poetry collection. With a little bit of everything inside.
June 26, 2018
It's the sequel to 'Staying Alive' which I absolutely loved. I realised that for most of my life I've treated poetry anthologies like reference books, purely to be dipped in and out of, never thinking to read them cover to cover. Astley crafts his anthologies beautifully, the poems connected to one another like rooms in a well designed house. My only recently acquired advice to myself for reading poetry is: 1) read them cover to cover to start off with, then dip in for your favourites; 2) each poem is its own little world, so don't be surprised if you can only manage 4 or 5 in a go. Poems, like art galleries, are more tiring than you think. 3) Don't expect to like every poem; 4) If you don't like a poem, it's not because you're not clever enough, or because the poem is bad; 5) A poem that doesn't speak to you now, might speak to you at another time.
July 31, 2008
More great poetry. Read a poem a day - it's good for you. Oh and listen to Beethoven too - life changing.
January 6, 2020
Tried to read a poem a day over 2019, and most from this brilliant brilliant collection.
May 27, 2024
Being Alive is the sequel to Neil Astley's "Staying Alive," an excellent follow-up to the poetry anthology "Staying Alive."
I initially had doubts that any book could rival the diverse range and quality of the poems in "Staying Alive." However, "Being Alive" not only manages to match this standard but also does a magnificent job of it. It serves as a perfect companion to "Staying Alive," offering an equally impressive collection of poems.
"Being Alive" is a heartfelt collection that guides you through a profound emotional journey with its carefully crafted poetry, presenting a poem suitable for every occasion. This anthology serves as a powerful tribute to the boundless creativity of the human spirit, the transformative influence of language, and the captivating enchantment of poetry.
This collection is well-suited for individuals who are new to exploring the world of poetry and for those who have a profound appreciation for prose.
I initially had doubts that any book could rival the diverse range and quality of the poems in "Staying Alive." However, "Being Alive" not only manages to match this standard but also does a magnificent job of it. It serves as a perfect companion to "Staying Alive," offering an equally impressive collection of poems.
"Being Alive" is a heartfelt collection that guides you through a profound emotional journey with its carefully crafted poetry, presenting a poem suitable for every occasion. This anthology serves as a powerful tribute to the boundless creativity of the human spirit, the transformative influence of language, and the captivating enchantment of poetry.
This collection is well-suited for individuals who are new to exploring the world of poetry and for those who have a profound appreciation for prose.
April 4, 2018
For some reason the star rating system has disappeared. I awarded the book 4 stars.
I really enjoyed this book. I am not enamoured with poetry anthologies built around some 'theme' - in this case life and it's developing stages. It seems a little synthetic to me. Is not all poetry about life? Anyway not a big deal.
Most of the chosen poems and poets I thought to be excellent and I was often surprised, in a good way, about the innovative approaches taken to structure and language by some poets.
I find that I never really 'finish' a good book of poems. If they have merit you always pick up the book again and reread what has excited you before. This book deserves that comment in spades and I know I will be rereading it for some time to come.
I really enjoyed this book. I am not enamoured with poetry anthologies built around some 'theme' - in this case life and it's developing stages. It seems a little synthetic to me. Is not all poetry about life? Anyway not a big deal.
Most of the chosen poems and poets I thought to be excellent and I was often surprised, in a good way, about the innovative approaches taken to structure and language by some poets.
I find that I never really 'finish' a good book of poems. If they have merit you always pick up the book again and reread what has excited you before. This book deserves that comment in spades and I know I will be rereading it for some time to come.
June 13, 2021
The "Staying Alive" anthologies were among the first collections to make me really fall in love with poetry. I had previously read Staying Alive and Being Human so I had high expectations for Being Alive. It did not disappoint. The poems in this book cover a wide range of experiences and exposed me to new and diverse poets whose work I otherwise may not have read. I cannot recommend this series highly enough.
July 28, 2022
Without a doubt my favourite modern poetry collection I have stumbled across. An amazing array of both renowned and smaller poets that includes some of my new favourites like ' 'What do Women Want?' ' by Kim Addonizio and 'The New Bride' by Catherine Smith. I very much enjoyed the inclusion of many translations of poems in languages other than English. The range of themes seems a tad constrictive, but I understand that there must be a way to organise such a large number of poems.
February 4, 2022
My first time reading a physical collection of poems and I must say it was lovely. It was a great experience to just read a page or two every couple of days and some of the poems were really a nice surprise as to how much I could relate to them. A solid read.
May 16, 2017
Kept me alive and comforted me through some damned dark times
March 17, 2020
Some of these poems are brilliant, a good many of them are terrible. It's worth mining the diamonds in "Being Alive." Read at your own risk!
December 27, 2020
Great selection of poetry covering the immediate and accessible through to complex and multilayered work. Something for everyone who enjoys a good poem.
April 20, 2022
Unpopular opinion maybe, but I found the collection a bit hit and miss. Some gems, but a lot I didn't enjoy.
May 15, 2022
Just as good as Staying Alive
April 30, 2023
A sequel to the collection of purported British poetry favorites. Such excellent poems collected here. A gift from a friend in the UK. ❤
February 7, 2025
A re-read for me and I notice that I seem to pick this up every January. Perhaps that's the month I need reminding that I'm still alive! Intensely humane, human poems, highly recommended for the bleak midwinter.
March 28, 2012
This book is one of the best poetry collections that I have ever read. The editor Neil Astley in his introduction states he wanted to bring together poetry which "speaks to us with the same unnerving power now as when we first came across them".
This book includes some of the best poems by the great poets of recent history like Yeats, Frost, Kavanagh, Heaney, Auden etc. but also includes works which English speakers will not know such as the translated works of Polish, Hungarian and Swedish poets.
This is an excellent book for both beginners (especially IMO) and for those who enjoy poetry - there is a wonderful mix of known and unknown contemporary poets, divided into sections such as "War and Peace". Neil Astley didn't just pick wonderful poems but laid them out juxtaposing opposite tones of the same theme side by side.
On a personal note one of my favourites of the collection is an anonymous poem (although many seem to be linked to it) - Do Not Stand at my Grace and Weep.
Highly recommend this!
This book includes some of the best poems by the great poets of recent history like Yeats, Frost, Kavanagh, Heaney, Auden etc. but also includes works which English speakers will not know such as the translated works of Polish, Hungarian and Swedish poets.
This is an excellent book for both beginners (especially IMO) and for those who enjoy poetry - there is a wonderful mix of known and unknown contemporary poets, divided into sections such as "War and Peace". Neil Astley didn't just pick wonderful poems but laid them out juxtaposing opposite tones of the same theme side by side.
On a personal note one of my favourites of the collection is an anonymous poem (although many seem to be linked to it) - Do Not Stand at my Grace and Weep.
Highly recommend this!
August 25, 2012
Adding this one in as a 'read' book as I am currently reading the third of this excellent series of poetry anthologies 'Being Human'.
This is the strongest of the three in my view. All of the books make an effort to introduce the reader to new poets (which it certainly does). If there is a thematic link it is around poetry as a talismanic and life-protectingforce:text as touchstone.
I do not know if I view poetry in quite this way but I am sure many people do.
In any case the selection is excellent and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Interestingly I note that other reviewers have also mentioned 'The Rattle Bag' as the anthology that kick-started their youthful interest in poetry. I can say that this anthology could have the same effect on many.
This is the strongest of the three in my view. All of the books make an effort to introduce the reader to new poets (which it certainly does). If there is a thematic link it is around poetry as a talismanic and life-protectingforce:text as touchstone.
I do not know if I view poetry in quite this way but I am sure many people do.
In any case the selection is excellent and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Interestingly I note that other reviewers have also mentioned 'The Rattle Bag' as the anthology that kick-started their youthful interest in poetry. I can say that this anthology could have the same effect on many.
January 5, 2015
Of the three books in this series I think I like Being Human best - but I've only dipped into that in a library copy. Being Alive has a fabulous range of poems from a range of writers both well known e.g.- Larkin, Adcock and less wellknown, favourites of which include Happiness by Jane Kenyon, Fight Song by Jane Garrison and Pleasure by David Constantine. Its a brilliant book to open at random and see what treasure is revealed
January 17, 2016
A good fat anthology of poems I was given to read for my book group, but which I wasn't able to find a suitable way to consume. I dipped in and out, read just under half (the poems are gathered into themed chapters) and enjoyed quite a few of what I read, but much of it barely made an impact - which I suppose is the nature of the format/genre. Nevertheless, had I owned rather than borrowed this, I would have dipped in and out over a longer period and got more from it.
January 6, 2010
This is a companion to Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times. It's a similar collection, with a range of themes and different poets. A pretty diverse collection. I haven't read every poem in it, but I love the fact that I can dip in and out of it and almost always find something I want. I think these two anthologies will be staying with me.
October 4, 2012
Why does It astonish me that there are so many good poems in here? The selection includes poems that are touching, chilling and funny. Some in translation, some by native English writers. I think Neil Astley, the editor, is a genius.
April 29, 2011
If I had to recommend only one poetry book, this would be it. There's something for everyone, for every moment, from some of the best writers in the world.
Read
August 2, 2011a great anthology - just spotted this at the library and had to try it
September 19, 2020
This is the second book in the series of three and for me the best one so far. I found the poetry touched me much more than the first, but I guess its a personal thing.
January 12, 2014
A good balance and range
June 20, 2015
Lives on my bedside locker, I love this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews